How to Live in Harmony With High-Fiber Foods

113 Comments

Hi Sweet Friends,

Sometimes when folks add more veggies and fiber-filled foods to their plate, their digestive system doesn’t cooperate very well and uncomfortable physical issues crop up. These not-so-awesome bathroom trips and embarrassing gassy moments have given fiber a bad name. But fiber really is your friend — you just have to get to know it a little better and learn a few simple fiber guidelines. Today, I hope to mend any grudges you have against fiber and show you how to live in harmony with it. C’mon, give fiber a chance!

What is fiber?

Quite simply, fiber is plant roughage — the part of veggies, fruits, beans, grains, nuts and seeds that resists digestion. So why would you go out of your way to eat things that just come out anyway? For precisely that reason. Fiber helps clean out your digestive system and get rid of things (namely extra hormones, cholesterol, toxins and waste) that shouldn’t be there.

Fiber also provides a plethora of other health benefits, including proper colon health and intestinal bacterial balance. In addition, fiber-rich foods are essential for a strong immune system, faster metabolism and weight control, diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention, beautiful skin and better overall health. Are you beginning to see why I’m so passionate about fiber?

What’s the difference between soluble & insoluble fiber?

Insoluble fiber has a laxative effect and is found in fruit and vegetable skins, wheat, wheat bran, rye and rice. It doesn’t readily dissolve in water so it adds to fecal bulk (poop mass). It’s crucial for hearty, healthy bowel movements, which should be excreted at least once or twice a day.

Soluble fiber absorbs liquid, swells and is readily digested by intestinal bacteria. It ferments and produces gases in the digestive tract. I know this doesn’t sound so sexy, but it’s very important for colon health. Soluble fiber creates a feeling of fullness and is the kind of fiber responsible for lowering LDL “lousy” cholesterol. You have to look a little harder for soluble fiber in the diet, but champions include chia seeds, flax seeds, oats, oat bran, barley, beans, lentils, psyllium and most fruits — especially berries.

How much fiber do you need to eat?

There’s a big difference between how much fiber the average person is eating and how much they should be eating for optimal health. The recommended intake for disease prevention is 14 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories consumed, which averages to at least 38 grams per day for men and 25 grams per day for women. Many health authorities, however, recommend eating even more fiber to better your chances of overall health and wellness. However, the average American fiber intake is about half of what’s recommended — 16-18 grams of a day for men and 12-14 grams per day for women.

And let’s not leave out the kiddos! Kids eat less food and should naturally have less fiber in their diet. But, fiber is still important for their overall health, and it’s important for them to have a mix of insoluble fiber-rich veggies, wheat bran, and rice as well as soluble fiber-rich beans, seeds and berries. Loose stools are often the first sign that a child may be getting too much fiber, or an improper balance of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Why does fiber cause gas and indigestion?

Too much added fiber, too fast

An increase in total fiber, especially a jump too quickly can cause gas and bloating. But, it’s really the fermentation of soluble fiber in the colon that produces these issues. Soluble fiber hits the colon undigested, and when the gut bacteria works to break it down, gas results. A-ha! This is why the childhood song pokes fun at beans as the “musical fruit” and not lettuce — beans have a great deal of soluble fiber, lettuce has mostly insoluble fiber. Keep in mind that beans or no beans, it is actually normal to pass gas 13-21 times a day. Yes, I said it’s normal. Fart-tastic!

Digestive disorders

Irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive disordersaffect how much gas moves through the intestinal tract and can increase intestinal gassiness as well as bloating and painful discomfort. Like anyone new to a high-fiber diet, folks with sensitive or otherwise challenged digestive systems should increase fiber intake slowly and ensure a mix of both insoluble and soluble fiber-rich foods.

Soluble fiber like the kind found in chia seeds and flax seeds helps to soften stools and make happy bowel movements with minimal discomfort. Raw vegetables and cruciferous vegetables may provide special challenges for those with digestive disorders. If this is the case, eating smaller quantities or cooking veggies thoroughly may give some relief.

You’re not drinking enough water

To avoid constipation (which often goes along with extra gas and bloating), be sure to increase fluid intake as you increase fiber intake. If you’re dehydrated, your body pulls water from your food waste, making your poop more difficult to pass. Women need (on average) at least 2 liters of water a day and men need at least 3 liters a day. You can also calculate this by dividing your body weight in half and drinking that quantity of water in ounces (a person who weighs 200 pounds needs to drink 100 ounces water daily).

A diet too high in fatty foods can also increase bloating and digestive discomfort. Fatty foods (even of the healthier fat variety) slow down stomach emptying and lower the transit time of foods through the digestive system. This gives the body extra time to get gassy and uncomfortable.

Get more actionable steps for living a healthy & vibrant life straight to your inbox:

Do the root causes we just covered sound familiar? If so, read on and learn how to live a thriving and comfortable high-fiber life.

How to calm digestion and prevent gas while eating fibrous foods

Here are some easy ways you can increase healthy, fibrous foods while avoiding pesky digestive issues:

Ease into eating more fiber slowly. Add 5 grams of fiber (the amount in 1 large serving of vegetables, 1/3 cup of cooked beans or lentils, or 1 ½ servings of fruit) no sooner than every 3 days. Trampolining into too much fiber too fast is a guarantee that you’ll get gassy, bloated, and perhaps have too many bathroom trips. And chances are, you’ll blame the fiber and go back to your old low-fiber ways. Once your system is used to the added 5 grams of fiber, add another 5 grams. The minute you feel discomfort, scale back slightly and try again in 3 more days. Keep going until you’re fiber-strong! It often takes a month or more to fully transition to a superpower high-fiber diet. And don’t forget to increase water intake as your fiber intake increases — at least 2 liters for women and 3 liters for men daily.

Balance soluble and insoluble fiber. If gas persists, replace some of the soluble-fiber rich foods (beans, lentils, split-peas, berries, chia seeds, oats, flax) with foods rich in insoluble fiber (veggies, fruit, wheat, wheat bran, and brown rice). Soluble fiber is often to blame for gassiness and insoluble fiber helps move things out more quickly allowing for less gassy time potential.

Cook beans with kombu. After soaking dried beans overnight (or at least a few hours) and before boiling them, drain the soaking water (it contains some gas-causing compounds), add new filtered water and a strip of dried kombu seaweed (found at any health food store). The kombu contains enzymes (unlike our digestive tracts) that breakdown the gas-causing raffinose simple sugars in beans and cruciferous veggies.

Eliminate high-fat and fried foods. Fat slows stomach emptying and can increase gas and bloating. Reduce even healthy fats like nuts, avocados, seeds and healthy oils to see if fat may be the culprit.

Chew slowly and avoid carbonated beverages and gum. The less gas you consume, the less gas that has to get out. Simple!

Add fresh ginger to meals. Ginger is a big-time gas reliever, digestion easer and nausea and motion sickness remedy. Add ginger to stir-fries, green juice and bean dishes. Enjoy hot ginger tea before and after meals or a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger before meals.

Take a probiotics supplement and eat probiotic foods. Probiotics help restore good bacteria and ease digestion. Foods that are naturally high in probiotics include pineapple, organic tempeh, kimchi, organic natto, sauerkraut and organic miso. Or supplement with a high-quality probiotic like Dr. Ohirra’s, Primal Defense, Healthforce Nutritionals (Friendly Force) and MegaFood’s Megaflora.

Exercise. Any cardiovascular exercise that strengthens your abdominal muscles (walking, running, bicycling) also helps strengthen your digestive muscles. This eases digestion. Plus, getting your heart rate up also increases your intestinal speed. Less time in the tract can often help alleviate gas. Certain yoga poses that increase blood flow to the digestive tract like the seated spinal twist can also help soothe indigestion.

Wheel out trapped gas. Lay on the floor, legs up in the air and move them in a bicycle motion. Wheee! Trapped gas can be really painful, and this exercise will help you get some relief.

Now that we’ve covered the benefits of fiber and how to overcome the common issues associated with eating fiber-rich foods, do you think you can try to make things work with this amazing and essential part of your diet?

Let me know in the comments if this post resonated with you and if you have any questions or tips I haven’t already covered!

113 Responses…

I love this Kris, so incredibly informative – I just love how you give us the scoop on things in such a way that it empowers us to incorporate and apply the knowledge into our days… I so love that!! Thanks so much.

I love this article! You make it so doable. I am going to try adding in more water, and cooking beans with kombu this week. I would love to hear sometime if you have any thoughts on food combining, and whether that effects gas?

Food combining definitely makes a huge difference for me! I think that’s why I still have problems with “beans”; they’re both starch and protein…. Following the Body Ecology Diet principles has helped me tremendously;)

The most difficult thing in taking care of myself and my family is being consistent and compliant.
One grocery trip will create amazing tasty and healthy meals, snacks and juices… then the next one done in haste creates crap-tastic meals or the craziness of our weekly schedule results in rotted and wasted produce adding guilt to the mix.
In a dream scenario, we would have a person dedicated to buying our groceries, making our meals and directing us in fun physical activity daily. That would take the stress of planning off my plate and allow me to work and play with my 4 kiddos and my hottie husband.
I need to own it though… it needs to be a priority in my life.
Your inspiration helps.
Thank you
Cheers~Ivy

It feels like you’ve been hearing me complain! I started a vegan diet (too much too soon) and had so many “issues” that after four months returned to bad habits! I’ve been searching for an answer. I truly appreciate you tackling a sensitive topic w great advice (pace yourself and the kombu are happening immediately) in a frank and informative manner! Yay!

Thanks for the article and for your research. It’s super helpful to have it spelled out so clearly. 🙂 and love your hoomer!
After reading about the gaps diet I have increased my times with soaking beans, rice, grains, nuts etc before eating them…..because it really also helps with digestion….? Do you soak everything also chia, etc?

Thank you Kris for this incredibly helpful article. You are right there for me when I need you the most. I’ve been suffering with chest pains for over a year now. They come and last about three days and then go. This January I did your 21 day cleanse but I knew my system was just not working right and I was constipated quite often. I just had a heart cauterization done and a stent was placed by my cardiologist. I thought my chest pains would be over but not so–even worse. I added fiber to my diet and have had some success with eliminating constipation but now the chest pains are worse. I sleep on a wedge pillow at night (if you can call it sleep) and am just beginning to feel better after I cut the fiber intake in down. Your article encourages me to stay with it and give my body time to adjust. Thanks!!!
Hugs, Hope

Great article! I checked an online list of foods and fiber grams and I am getting enough, so that is good! I did not know that pineapple was probiotic. Also, I had never heard of “kombu”, and that adding it to beans when cooking would alleviate gassiness. Great tips! I learned a lot. Thank you so much!!

Kris,
Your article covers the subject of fiber better than any I’ve ever read. The simple, yet, thorough way you explain everything makes it a cinch to understand. Helping us remember certain medical terms using familiar terms like “lousy” for LDL helps me tremendously!
I’ve “ear” witnessed a yoga pose (during a group class) that helps with gas and its name is so appropriate, wind breaking pose, pulling your knees into your chest.
My new mantra will be “Eat more beans”!
Thanks!

Thanks so much Kris! This information is really helpful. With my IBS, and dairy, gluten sensitivity, raw veggies of any kind are on me. Do you know if steaming, or microwaving broccoli or other veggies sucks the nutrient value out of them? What about baking kale for kale chips? I wonder sometimes if there are any nutrients left in the veggies after all that. Also.. what about essential enzymes? I was told by a local nutritionist that taking them before eating would help with gas with raw fruits and veggies.
Thanks for all you do. Love your show in Hay house radio!

Such a timely post, Kris! I’ve been adding more raw foods to my diet lately and have noticed a steady increase in gassiness. I will definitely try out some of your tips to see what works and what doesn’t. Thank you! I had no idea about soluble and insoluble fibers or that fats cause gas. I will absolutely keep these things in mind going forward.

Kris I love you! A few of us are still anxiously awaiting a response about your famous vegan reuben recipe you mentioned last week. Please please whenever you have a chance. My mouth is watering already!
Thanks
xo Amber

Using essential oil of Peppermint ,in two ways.One by licking a drop or two and chase it with a glass of warm to hot water or out 2-3 drops on the belly button in circular fashion ,and if the gas is really bad put a wash cloth that was soaked in hot water over the belly button after the oil application . The heat will disperse the aroma within the digestive tract quickly. Either one works instantly .

Your articles are the best, Kris! Humor with great content is just what I needed this morning. I’m sharing this article (fully attributed, of course 🙂 with the women in my ‘Body Wise: women, weight & wisdom’ group today. And telling them to get in gear and sign up for your blog. Thanks g’zillions! ~Thea

More than a year ago I found out that the reason I had been sick most of my short life (25 years) was that I’m hypoglycemic (low blood sugar). Naturally I was addicted to sugar big time- but it was causing my problems. So I went on the low GI diet not eating anything sugar or that would turn into sugar quickly in my stomach. After about a year (emotional as heck) I didn’t crave sugar anymore and I was feeling much better.
I started thinking about getting my PH levels into the green and that’s when I found Crazy Sexy Diet! I was only planning on reading the section about PH, but I had casually started to read your intro and got hooked reading from cover to cover. So to make my life more interesting I went from gluten, sugar, alcohol, and starch free to adding less dairy and meat products. I’m also making green smoothies, not every day but usually at least a few times a week so far.
In the past couple of weeks I have cut out dairy entirely to see if it’s causing my numerous black head bumps on my forehead. Now I can’t remember the last time my stools weren’t loose. I’m eating mostly Quinoa, steel cut oats, bulgar, beans, lots of salads and fresh veg, apples & grapefruit, seeds & nuts along with a little bit of flesh as you would put it 😉 So my question is: how do I get my stools to firm up a bit? From reading the artical Tips to Live in Harmony with High Fiber Foods I’m guessing I might need to eat more insoluble fiber?
Thank you for all the great info and awareness you put out there!

Bridget, it sounds like you get plenty of fibre. There is never one magic bullet answer that works the same way for everyone. It sounds like you have made many positive changes in your life & made a serious commitment to your health. Try not to get frustrated, patience is a must, it took 25 years to get here! If you are already eating a healthy, mostly plant balanced diet which includes plenty of fibre and still having some health issues then it may be a good idea to seek professional advice from a qualified natural health care practitioner, like a Naturopathic Dr. or Holistic Nutritionist etc. that can narrow down the focus on where you may be experiencing underlying imbalances. In the mean time, you may want to start taking a good quality probiotic if you are not already doing so, and add cabbage juice and un-pasteurized sauerkraut to your daily menu. Cabbage is very healing for the gut and the sauerkraut with also be loaded with enzymes & good bacteria. Keep discovering what works for your body and your life. Good luck! 🙂

Hi Kris,
I am Jenny Lynn Suckling Spencer’s Mom (OR). I have a small business that is all about nutrition and love reading your emails. Do you mind if I put some of your articles in my news letter with credit to you?
Love your work and all you have done!!
Mary Lou

Hey Kris,
Thank you so much for this post. This was a focus of the colonics that I recently had. One thing you didn’t mention was soy, which seems to be the culprit of gas for many people. I eat tofu, edamame, have soy milk with chai etc. and would love to know more about the effects of this. I also recently did a juice cleanse which I am coming off of today. I’m wondering wether I should avoid soy completely, and if it’s healthy. I’m vegan and GF, it would seem increasingly difficult to add soy free on to that. Also trying to think of a clever way to not call them “food restrictions” 🙂 would love your feedback on this. Thank you!!

Thanks so much for this information. I’m definitely going to stock up on ginger in, like, a few minutes when I go to the store, and will be doing the yoga pose and bicycle exercise you suggested. I’m just getting over yet another UC flare after catching a stomach bug and gas is making it impossible for me to get a good night’s sleep. Gas + inflammation = PAIN enough to wake me out of a sound sleep. Not to mention my poor, loving husband, but that’s another story…

Hey Kris, thanks for the info, I really loved it. I was always wondering about fiber and had some struggle myself a long the way the majority of my clients struggle one way or the other with these issues! Cool, love the recommendations I get give now!! I just received your book CSK the other day! So thrilled, can’t wait to cook through it!! Much love from Paris, xx Elke

Hello All: hooray for fiber! I started on Kris’ CSD last year & have been 99% vegan for 14 months. I just had a lipid panel done & I compared it to the same lab tests that were done 2 yrs ago…cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides are all improved. I directly attribute this to all the fiber I’m now eating.
Thanks so much Kris! Ann

Hey Kris, I am a big fan of yours way up here in Manitoba, Canada! I just love how you communicate with people and get your message across in a fun and direct way. You have a gift. I appreciate this article because I’ve always had issue with my bowels and now my digest tract. Things are getting better with veggy smoothies (1 part berries and 3 part veggies) and the addition of more fiber in general. Thank you.

I find it also helps to bear in mind that some foods digest more rapidly than others and you don’t want a fast digesting food stuck behind a slow digesting food as that will cause more fermentation to occur. For example, fruits digest quickly so I would eat fruit as a first course rather than a dessert.

This article came just in time! I have just started making green drinks with fresh veggies for breakfast and within a few days, noticed the “problem” and was wondering what was going on! Thanks for your suggestions and sage advice. I will scale back to every two days on the drinks. Also, I never had a problem with beans before, but now it seems everything is a problem!

After doing a little research, it looks like quinoa contains both insoluble AND soluble fiber. And according to the blog, if a particular food is giving you a lot of gas, it’s a good idea to scale back and slowly increase the quantity you’re eating over time.

OK…so one unanswered ? Why do some people have such awful stinking gas?
Kris you rock, My husband is enjoying the meals from the cookbook & commented that “in all the years we’ve been together(42yrs.) I’ve never seen you so enthused to be in the kitchen” I am having a blast & everything turns out amazing!

Thank you for all the information,about gas and many other related tópics you always help us.I’myour big fan from Mexico city .I follow you all the time and really appreciate the great person you are.God bless you everywhere you are this world needs people like you.

Thanks for these tips – I didn’t know that ginger could help with gas – I love fresh ginger tea! I also didn’t know that cooking beans with Kombu would make it easier to digest. I have some Kombu in my cupboard, actually. But my favorite tip of all was the last one ….the fact I found it so funny doesn’t say much about my maturity level! oh well 😉

Hi Kris. Love you! Listen to your show and have just started green juicing. I use your Mojito recipe and altered a bit for me. This will be my third day juicing. So I revisited your website today to see when is the best time to green juice and why you feel it is so important. But I really didn’t find much on your website. Am I missing something? 🙂 Can you guide me to where you have this valuable information? OR, might you add some of this information under your Mojito Recipe?

Thanks Kris and thanks for changing my life (and hopefully my husband’s — I plan to have him give juicing a try!)